FTSE 100 Live: Stocks flat as Trump’s deadline looms; Job vacancies shrink; Primark gets spin-off April 21, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. New unemployment figures this morning have showed an unexpected twist where the joblessness rate slipped under the five per cent mark. But this was accompanied by a blow to the market with the number of vacancies fell by an estimate of 29,000 in the three [...]
Revolut’s blockbuster IPO is two years out, says Nik Storonsky April 20, 2026 The boss of Revolut has ruled out a public listing for the next two years in a move that extends the Treasury’s timeline to shore up one of Europe’s most-desired IPO prospects. Nik Storonsky, the straight-talking founder of Revolut, said a public debut was “two years away”. “We’re a bank, and for a bank, it’s [...]
‘No more Mr Nice Guy’: Oil prices spike as Trump renews Iran power plant threats April 20, 2026 The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped over six per cent on Monday morning to over $96. It follows a weekend of tensions where shipping [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slump on renewed Iran threats; UK to be ‘pushed to brink’ of recession April 20, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to a fresh round of volatility. The mood ended last week on a high following the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz but that sentiment was quickly squashed over the weekend as tensions renewed. Shipping in the Strait of [...]
UK fintech chiefs switch growth plans as capital conditions wane April 20, 2026 Over seven in ten UK fintech chiefs are switching growth plans due to the country’s ailing capital conditions. Some 71 per cent of the sector’s top bosses said they have had to adjust growth strategies as a result of tightening capital conditions, according to a fresh report from fintech advisory firm Chatsworth and market researcher [...]
FTSE 100 jumps as Strait of Hormuz fully open following ceasefire April 17, 2026 The Iranian regime has reopened the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire in the Middle East between numerous warring nations. Tehran’s foreign minister said on Friday afternoon: “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”. Traffic [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jittery as Starmer makes play to reopen Strait of Hormuz April 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The UK and France are set to co-chair a meeting with allies later today in a bid to strum up ways to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway, which sits off Iran’s coast, sees around a fifth of the world’s oil supply flow [...]
Ashmore share price plummets after Iran War leaves investors sitting on their hands April 16, 2026 Emerging market specialist Ashmore Group suffered a sharp drop in its share price during early morning trading, after the Middle East conflict brought earlier growth to a grounding halt and caused investors to “sit on their hands”. Shares tumbled 5.6 per cent in early trading to 209.4p, after the group reported a three per cent [...]
Wall Street scales to record highs as investors bet the end of the Iran war is in sight April 16, 2026 Wall Street surged to fresh record highs on Wednesday amid growing optimism among investors and traders that the end of the US-Iran war is near as both nations gear up to return to the negotiating table. The benchmark S&P 500 breached 7,000 points for the first time in history, after climbing 0.8 per cent over [...]
Easyjet shares grounded after revealing £560m hit from Iran war April 16, 2026 Easyjet expects to make a whopping loss in the first half of the financial year after the war in the Middle East led to major disruptions across operations. The budget airline said on Thursday it is forecasting a loss before tax of between £540m and £560m as the industry battles against rising costs. Shares in [...]